VA offers upbeat report after CT dose review

The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has produced a mostly positive report following completion of a yearlong review of compliance with CT radiation dose safety requirements at 56 VA facilities across the U.S.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the office noted high compliance in multiple areas, including the following:

• The assignment of designated radiation safety officers in facilities
• Radiation doses documented by clinicians as required by facility policy
• CT technologists who were certified, had received selected training, and had dosimetry monitoring

However, the inspection also highlighted a system weakness -- namely, medical physicists did not consistently inspect CT scanners after repairs or modifications that affected the dose or image quality prior to returning the scanners to clinical service, the office wrote in the statement. The report included one recommendation on the issue.

The evaluation sought to determine whether facilities complied with selected VA radiation safety requirements. The office noted that while CT scans are helpful in diagnosing serious injuries and specifying the size and location of tumors, they contribute to total patient radiation exposure and could result in the development of future cancers, making it essential to avoid unnecessary scans.